Tag: travel blog

While in Cornwall, Mom and I had visited Land’s End, the southernmost point on the British mainland. It was a very foggy day, so we didn’t see much. Twelve years later, my friend, Tommie, and I were at Dunnet Head, the northernmost point on the British mainland. As you will see in the photo, a storm was coming in with lots of wind and rain and very low visibility. So much for great scenic locations.

From Dunnet Head, we were driven to John O’Groats, from where we were taking a passenger-only ferry to Orkney. A different bus and driver were waiting for us there. But first, we needed to cross the Pentland Firth. The body of water that separates Orkney from mainland Scotland is where the North Sea meets the Atlantic. They don’t play well together. In fact, in the best of weather, they tend to fight. In poor weather, the ferries can sometimes be shut down due to the danger of what is called a “confusion of seas”. Our Tour Director, John, likened it to the film “The Perfect Storm”. Good thing I don’t get seasick. There were a few extremely pale faces and very wide eyes on the ferry. It was quite a ride.

When we arrived at Burwick, we were immediately taken to a cozy little café where we received a very tasty homestyle meal. With very satisfied stomachs, we drove around a body of water called Scappa Flow to the Italian Chapel built by prisoners of war in 1943.

Roughly 1,000 years ago, Vikings used to anchor their ships at Scapa Flow. During World Wars I & II, it was used as a naval base. The Germans chose to scuttle their fleet when it was captured and interned at Scapa Flow during WWI. The wrecks of the ships can still be seen jutting out of the water.

The prisoners of war who built the Italian Chapel were building the Churchill Barriers, which are causeways linking some of the southern islands of Orkney to the main island and blocking access to Scapa Flow. They joined together two Quonset huts and then decorated the church with materials at hand. They did a beautiful job.

Stonehenge dates to about 3000 BC. But the Neolithic Standing Stones of Stenness on Orkney is thought to possibly be the oldest henge site in all of the British Isles (3100 BC). A short distance away is the Ring of Brodgar, which was thought to have been erected roughly 2500 BC. By the time we reached the Ring of Brodgar (in which people can walk around and even touch the stones), it was raining horizontally. Orkney doesn’t have a lot of trees on a good share of its islands, so the wind can barrel its way across quite easily, bringing the rain with it. I hid behind one of the stones to photograph the others. I also wiped out my video camera to show that the rain was horizontal. Maeshowe, a burial mound built about 2800 BC, can be seen from the Ring of Brodgar.

When I was in Egypt, I encountered some very old structures, but Skara Brae, a Neolithic village on Orkney, is older than the pyramids or anything else I saw in Egypt. A cluster of stone and earth houses, Skara Brae was unearthed by a storm in 1850. It was occupied roughly from 3180 BC to about 2500 BC. A couple of the houses still have furnishings – beds, cupboards, dressers, seats and storage benches – all made of stone. It appears that the inhabitants were taken by surprise and fled, leaving some of their personal belongings behind.

Just steps from Skara Brae is Skaill House. The oldest parts of the house are thought to date back to the 15^th century, but the majority of the building dates to the 17^th century. Some of the house was inadvertently built over an ancient pre-Pictish burial ground. Several Pictish burial mounds are scattered around the area as well. Some of the house is rented out for people on holiday (vacation). There have been several stories about possible hauntings in parts of the house.

I had a very odd experience while there. It had begun to rain again while I was walking around Skara Brae, photographing and filming. By the time I was headed over to Skaill House to tour it, the rain was coming down quite hard. When looking at the house, there is an archway to the right of the building that actually predates the house itself. When I passed through the arch to go to the entrance, the rain stopped. I turned around and looked back through the arch to see that it was still raining on the other side. Ooooweeeooo! The place does have a very odd, mysterious, spooky vibe to it.

Once again, no photography was allowed inside. We could tour the main building and the kitchens, but not the wings. It is fairly large and spread out. In the library was a large, low, round window in a very thick wall. Sort of an unusual choice, I thought. I used Skaill House as a setting for a novel (that needs a rewrite) because it is so sprawling and foreboding on the outside, but quite pleasant and comfortable inside. Except for the ghosts.

Back in Orkney’s main city, Kirkwall (which is one of the few parts of Orkney with trees), is the 900 year old St Magnus Cathedral. It was built by Earl Rognvold of Orkney to commemorate his uncle, St Magnus. It even has its own dungeon.

Magnus was killed with an axe to the head and is always depicted with an axe. I don’t know that I’d like to be depicted for all eternity with a symbol of what killed me. But that seems to be the way they did things back then. When Rognvold had the cathedral constructed, he had Magnus’ bones interred in it. Nobody knew where they were until 1917 when they were found inside of a hidden cavity in a column. The skull clearly had what looked like an axe wound. There is now a statue of Magnus next to the column where he was discovered.

The ferry ride back to mainland Scotland was even rougher than on the way over. A very choppy ride. We headed back down to Wick for a second night and left for the Isle of Skye the following day.

During the 2009 tour to the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, we made a visit to the Culloden Battlefield. Mom and I had been there several times on prior trips. On the most recent in 2005, I had contributed a small amount to the new visitor center that was being built back then and was completed in 2008. It is a really great visitor center. One of my favorite sections was a film where you stand in the center of a round room and the battle takes place all around you. There is no narration, just the battle itself. You feel as if you are in the middle of it and it is very moving.

The battlefield had been restored as well. It was easy to see the burial mounds and stone markers had been added to indicate which clans were buried in which mounds. There were GPS devices to carry with you that would tell you about whatever part of the battlefield you were on. We had a pretty good amount of time there to explore. What a difference from the first time I was there when there wasn’t much to see and it took a lot of imagination. This is one reason why it can be a good thing to return to someplace you have been before. It can be a very different experience.

At the end of our time there, I took a few moments to see if I could find my name on the ceiling. Although the amount I had contributed was not enormous, it was enough to get my name on the ceiling. The names weren’t in alphabetical order (probably in the order of the donation) and there were a lot of them, so I didn’t find it. But I know it’s there.

Our next visit for the day was Cawdor Castle, built in the 1300s around a thorn tree, which is still there in the center of the lower level of the original tower. Although Shakespeare refers to Macbeth in his play as “Thane of Cawdor”, the real Macbeth never had that title. The castle didn’t yet exist in his day either. The real Macbeth had a castle near Inverness, which no longer exists. He also didn’t murder King Duncan. Duncan was killed in battle against Macbeth. Later, Macbeth was killed in battle against Duncan’s son, Malcolm.

No photography was allowed inside of the castle (which is still privately owned and lived in). I loved this castle. Its rooms were not as vast as in royal castles – much more homey and cozy. It also has beautiful gardens and a very nice gift shop. The area behind the castle was quite woodsy and pretty, with a lovely stream running through it.

We went back into Inverness for lunch and a mostly free afternoon. Tommie and a couple others in our group and I had a good time wandering around the town’s narrow streets. Then we had a late afternoon boat ride on Loch Ness. I tend not to turn down boat rides. I love to be out on the water. Loch Ness can be a very interesting lake to venture out on. It is one of the deepest lakes in the world – certainly the deepest in the UK. When calm, it can be like glass. When choppy, it can get fairly rough. There is a lot of peat in the water, so it tends to look rather black with very poor visibility. The rolling waves in the wake of a boat can resemble the humps of a serpent.

We spent another night in Inverness and then headed up past the Black Isle to Sutherland where we stopped at Dunrobin Castle. The original castle was built in 1401, but was greatly enlarged (to 189 rooms) and remodeled between 1835 and 1850. The present building looks more like a French chateau than a Scottish baronial castle. Even though it is no longer privately owned or lived in, photos weren’t allowed inside there either. The size and grandeur of the castle made it less appealing to me than Cawdor had been. I could imagine myself living in Cawdor, but not Dunrobin. It was gorgeous and the gardens magnificent, however. We were able to wander through the rooms at our leisure and walk around in the gardens as much as we liked.

The castle overlooks the North Sea. Down by the Seagate is a Falconry. At various times during the day, they put on a show with hawks, falcons, eagles (one blue and one golden), and some owls. We were there with plenty of time to see a show. Since I had a video camera, the falconer had me point it at the eagle owl he had with him and then had the owl fly right by me, just skimming over my head (I felt the air as he went by). It was thrilling and looks fantastic on the video.

Throughout the trip, our Tour Director, John, had been saying, “Gird your loins for Wick.” When we arrived in Wick that evening, our hotel was small, without phones or TVs or fridges in the rooms or a restaurant (we were given a private dinner in a dining room area). I think he had been concerned that we might find it rather primitive after the more luxurious accommodations we had elsewhere on the trip. But it had good beds, electricity, and ensuite bathrooms. What more could you need for just one night?

After arrival, we immediately set off for the Castle of Mey. The Queen Mother had purchased the castle back in 1952, shortly after her husband, King George VI died. Built in the 1500s by the Sinclair family, it is a fairly small castle with 37 rooms. It was derelict when purchased, but was successfully turned into a lovely and cozy home. We were shown around the castle by one of the Queen Mother’s household staff. This was fantastic because they had actually known her and could tell endearing stories about her.

One story was that the Queen Mother kept a stuffed Nessie (Loch Ness Monster) on the top edge of one of the tapestries in the room where guests would be received. This was used as an ice-breaker to put first-time guests at ease when she would ask if they liked her Nessie. In one of the other rooms, she had a stuffed toy deer head instead of the usual trophy of a real deer. The room where Princess Margaret often stayed was supposedly haunted. The ghost didn’t seem to bother the Princess too often, but would make their presence known when she wasn’t there. Perhaps they missed her.

The castle also has a beautiful walled garden where both flowering plants and fruits and vegetables are grown. There is a bench in the garden where the Queen Mother liked to sit and contemplate life.

On our way back to Wick, we visited the church the Queen Mother attended when at Mey — Canisbay Church. They had her chair roped off. It was fascinating walking around in the surrounding cemetery and looking at the old tombstones.

That night, Wick was celebrating a festival to honor Henry Sinclair, who was said to have sailed to North America nearly 100 years before Columbus. They had a big torchlight parade through the streets, culminating in the burning of a Viking ship in the bay. This part is due to the town’s Norse heritage.

Next time – we cross the Pentland Firth to the otherworldly Orkney.

In 2009, my friend Tommie (who I have known since we were in high school) and I decided we should go to Scotland together. We are both of Scottish ancestry. She still lives in Texas and I have lived away from Texas (NYC and Minneapolis) for several years. So we got on a conference call with the tour company I used the most at that time, and booked the best, most thorough, tour of Scotland I had experienced up to that point – Scottish Highlands and Islands.

On the plane from Chicago to Heathrow, I sat next to a couple from Seattle. The wife had been three years old towards the end of World War II when her family fled northern Germany for Dusseldorf as the Allies were coming in. Their part of Germany was being taken over by the Soviets. A couple rows behind us was a man from Easy Company (“Band of Brothers”). I didn’t catch the name, but we all applauded him.

Tommie got into Glasgow about an hour later than I did and we met up at the hotel. Mom and I had stayed in that same hotel on a previous trip, so I remembered the area pretty well. We took a walk up to Sauchiehall Street and had lavender tea with treacle scones, jelly and clotted cream upstairs at Bradford’s Tea Room. A very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

That evening, we met the rest of the group. Our tour director was named John – a very smart, funny, interesting man. He knew a previous tour director that Mom and I had just a few years earlier (Matthew) and claimed that he was “barking mad”. I felt that it took one to know one. He was pretty darn eccentric himself. Our driver was Alistair, who Mom and I had on an earlier trip. A very nice man and a great driver. We had 44 people on this trip – 20 from the US and 24 from other places (Canada, Australia and New Zealand).

Our first stop the next morning when we actually began the tour was at Alloway. This was the birthplace of Robert Burns. He was born in a small cottage, which we toured, in 1759. I might have mentioned in an earlier blog that some people in Scotland can speak three languages – English, Scots Gaelic, and Scots (which is a mixture of old English and bits of Scots Gaelic). Burns wrote his poetry in Scots. If you don’t think you are familiar with him, he wrote the lyrics for “Auld Lang Syne” which is sung by most of the world on New Year’s Eve (called Hogmanay in Scotland).

After lunch in Gretna Green (which I had visited before), we dipped down into England to visit Carlisle. The castle there was built in the 1100s, using some of the stones from Hadrian’s Wall (which wasn’t protected then as it is now). Carlisle Castle was a military post from the 1100s all the way until 1959, making it the longest running military installation in the world. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned there for a while in 1567. They tended to move her around a lot.

After the Battle of Culloden in 1746, which was the final battle of the Jacobite Uprising to place Bonnie Prince Charlie on the throne of Great Britain, several Scottish prisoners were held there in the Keep. The song, “Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” was composed by one of those prisoners who was condemned to death. The “high road” is over land (alive), while the “low road” is in death. Our group spent a little time sitting in the cell, silently and in the dark, where these men were held.

Our hotel for the night was a very old building with a cozy old pub with settles. A settle is a wooden bench, with arms and a high back, which can usually accommodate from two to four people. It is often set near a fireplace to help keep the heat in that space. I find them very cozy. The bartender introduced me to a drink called “Pimms & Lemonade”. Pimms is a citrus-flavored liquor with spices. English lemonade is a clear, lemon-flavored soft drink. What we call “lemonade” in the US is “lemon squash” in the UK.

The following day was my first introduction to Hadrian’s Wall. I had read about it and gone by it before. But this was my first chance to get up close and even be able to get up on top of part of it. The wall stretches across a narrow portion of England for 73 miles (originally 80) and was begun in 122AD. The stone portions of the wall originally ranged from 16 to 20 feet in height and could be as wide as 10 feet. It was a pretty formidable wall. Some of the remains still are.

At the time it was built, the main people to the north of it were the Picts. This was considered to be an unconquerable group. They tended to paint themselves blue, had a lot of tattoos, and would strip naked when they went into battle, screaming at the top of their lungs. The Romans decided not to deal with them and just put up a wall instead of trying to rule them from scattered forts. The wall is fully in England and has never been on the Scottish border. At the time, Scotland as a country, didn’t yet exist and the Scots themselves were not yet in the area.

Cawfields Milecastle is the part of the wall we visited. It is next to a quarry and can be walked upon. Most of the wall cannot be walked on, but some portions are designated as being strong enough to handle all of us tromping all over it. It was raining when we arrived and the ground was muddy. But we slogged our way through to get to it and spent some time walking gingerly on it and taking photos of it. It was slippery. After getting back on the tour coach, we continued to drive along as close to the wall as we could as we traveled east. At one point, we could see Housesteads Fort way up on a very steep piece of land. I would finally visit that part of the wall in 2016.

We arrived at Jedburgh at lunchtime. Tommie and I decided that we would dash over to the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey and explore them, then grab some lunch to take onto the coach (if we didn’t finish it before we got on). The abbey had been built in the 12^th century. After William Wallace’s victory at Stirling Bridge, the English sacked the abbey in retribution. The Scottish Reformation in the 16^th century spelled the end of the abbey although the monks were allowed to live there until the abbey was essentially condemned in the middle 1800s. We were more interested in seeing the abbey than sitting and having a real meal. We knew we would be having a very good dinner that evening, so a sandwich for lunch on the run was fine. We actually did pretty well on time and were done with our sandwiches before we got back on the coach.

At Abbotsford House, we were the last group to be allowed in as Princess Anne was expected. Abbotsford was the home of Sir Walter Scott after he became rich and famous. We could visit the entrance hall, Scott’s study, the library, the drawing room, the armory, the dining room, and the chapel. Photography was not allowed indoors other than in the very small and plain chapel. We were told that when he became ill with typhus, Scott was set up in the dining room instead of his bedroom. He died in the dining room. We had time to spend out in the garden as well before we needed to pile back onto the tour coach.

At Edinburgh, we checked into our hotel, which was the George — the same hotel where Mom and I had stayed the last time we visited Edinburgh. It had changed owners and had been completely redecorated. Gone was the old-fashioned Victorian décor in favor of a more modern style. I preferred the Victorian. Tommie and I were housed on an upper floor in the newer wing and could see Edinburgh Castle in one direction and the Firth of Forth in the other. We got ourselves prepared for the next day and dressed up a bit for our optional tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia followed by dinner at the Balmoral Hotel.

The Royal Yacht was built in 1953 and was decommissioned roughly 40 years later in 1997. It was a private and stylish way for the royal family to travel around the world when making state visits or taking the family on vacation. It was also built to double as a hospital ship when needed. It is docked in Leith Harbor next to a shopping mall.

Next time, Tommie and I take a bus to Rosslyn Chapel on our free afternoon to explore the chapel, its Templar legends and connection to “The DaVinci Code”.

Growing up I had seen numerous black and white movies on TV about vampires, werewolves, etcetera, set in Transylvania. I had read Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula as a teenager in Dallas. When I lived in NYC, I saw an off-off-Broadway version of the play Dracula, as well as the stunning Broadway version with a young Frank Langella playing such a sexy edition of the blood sucker that nearly every woman in the audience was willing to succumb to this charms. In recent years just about every paranormal investigation group on TV has traveled to Transylvania to explore whether vampires or werewolves actually exist or to set their equipment up at Rasnov Fortress (both groups who I saw investigate there had pretty frightening experiences), Poenari Castle, or Bran Castle and see what they could capture. I was very interested in finding out whether or not Transylvania was as foreboding and spooky as its reputation.

Transylvania has seen Dacians, Romans, Carpi, Visigoths, Huns, Gepids, Avars, Slavs, Vlachs, and Magyars from the 1^st century BC to the 9^th century AD. All of those groups have left their mark – especially the Dacians, Vlachs, and Magyars.

When Mom and I went on the Central Europe tour, we had been told that people in Eastern Europe tended not to smile much and can be very standoffish. With all of the wars, invasions, and such they have experienced throughout the centuries, I can’t say I blame them. I was glad that Transylvania was not the first Eastern European region that I visited or I might have been a trifle unnerved by the rather dour expressions on most people’s faces. But I was used to it and found it no different than any other former Soviet country.

Our first stop in Transylvania was the mountain resort town of Sinaia. Just outside of the monastery we were visiting was a very large, lovely house for sale. Sue, Dot, Barbara and I discussed how we should go in on it together for a vacation home. We also enjoyed the fact that the real estate agency was Remax – there in the Carpathian Mountains.

The Monastery was founded in 1695 and named after the monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt. The relatively small monastery consists of two courtyards with a church in each and living quarters for the monks in the surrounding buildings. At the time it was built, it was the only structure in the area. A small town grew up next door, which was named after the monastery. Then, in the late 1800s, King Carl I of Romania, built Peleş (pronounced Pelish) Castle as a summer palace.

At Peleş Castle, we were able to purchase a ticket to allow photography and another to allow video. I did both and was glad I did. It is absolutely gorgeous inside (of course I have never met a castle I didn’t like). I have included just a couple of the interior photos I took here. Next door is another smaller castle built about a decade later called Pelişor Castle. It was also built by Carl I to house his nephew (who would be his successor).

After visiting Peleş, we had a lunch break. Sue, Dot, Barbara and I went to a small, family-owned hotel where we sat out on a terrace and had a white bean sour cream with bacon soup and some crusty bread with butter. After leaving Sinaia to head for Brasov, we encountered stormy weather in the Carpathian Mountains. By the time we reached Brasov, it was raining quite heavily.

Evidence of human inhabitation in Brasov exists as far back as 9500 BC. When it became a city, it was largely the Transylvanian Saxons who were involved in settling what is now the 7^th largest city in Romania. Zsuzsa’s Hungarian family lives in and around Brasov and has been there for over four hundred years.

Not too long after we arrived, I gave my brother, Dean, a call. It was his birthday. During the call I told him that I was in Transylvania, during a thunderstorm, in a room with a balcony and French doors. He asked if I had a crucifix. I answered that I had a new one from Rila Monastery and planned to have something with garlic for dinner. He thought that was a good idea. He also felt I should make certain that the French doors were securely locked.

We had an included dinner that night at a medieval fortress (up on a mountain) from 1580, replacing an earlier building that burned down. Members of the Brasov Symphony Orchestra played during dinner. It was very nice. Good food. By the time we were returning to our hotel, the storm was over.

They always say, “Write what you know.” Bram Stoker completely ignored that advice. He had never been to Transylvania in his life. He had heard of Vlad Dracula, liked the name, and turned a Prince of Wallachia into a Transylvanian Count. The castle? The location Stoker describes is in the northeastern part of Transylvania, near Moldavia. The description of the castle itself fits best with Bran Castle. Vlad was held prisoner in Bran Castle for a couple of months in 1462, but he never owned it. The castle has been nicknamed “Dracula’s Castle” and is marketed as such for the tourists.

Even so, it is a fascinating castle to see as it is roughly the right period (built just a hundred years before Vlad was held prisoner there) and gives a great idea of a Transylvanian Castle of that era. It is intact, furnished, and privately owned. Because of its mountainous location, there is a steep cobbled road to it. Then, you are up and down and up and down and up and down a myriad of stairs inside to get to the different rooms on different levels. The rooms are mostly pretty small. There is also a hidden staircase in a wall that we went up. Since I was the last one up, I was able to turn around a get a very good photo of it.

We had some free time once we toured the castle and so had plenty of time to look for interesting souvenirs. I did get a dagger with a handle in the shape of a dragon. I also bought an embroidered table runner.

On the way back to Brasov, we went by Rasnov Fortress. Too bad we didn’t get to stop off there. When we got back to Brasov, Zsuzsa gave us a walking tour of her hometown, including the medieval town walls, the Black Church, and the Old Town Square. The walls were built in the 15^th century. The gothic Black Church was completed in 1476 was named because of the scorched look of the exterior. Something special was going on in the church at the time we were there, so we didn’t get to go inside.

Also known as the Council Square, the Old Town Square has been in existence since the 14^th century. A museum of Brasov exists inside of the Old Council House in the center of the square. We were let loose on the town since there were numerous restaurants in the area to have lunch and we were also in walking distance of our hotel. Sue, Dot, Barbara and I found a very pleasant outdoor café where we had lunch. For some reason (perhaps the combination of a hot day, high altitude, and lots of walking), I was having a bout of dehydration. So, after lunch, the other ladies went to take a cable car up a mountain and I headed back to the hotel, purchasing liquids and some snacks for dinner on my way.

By the next day, I was fine again. We set off for Sighisoara, which is very picturesque, has its medieval walls and clock tower, and is the birthplace of Vlad Dracula. It was settled in the 12^th century, mainly by the Saxons. While Vlad’s dad was in exile from Wallachia and living in Transylvania, Vlad was born. The three story house his father owned in Sighisoara is still in existence and had been turned into a restaurant with a small weapons museum upstairs. It is considered to be the oldest stone house in town.

Not far from the house is the Monastery Church. This building dates back to the 13^th century, so would have been there when Vlad Junior and his family lived there. Just outside of the church is a bust of Vlad Dracula.

An even shorter distance from Casa Vlad Dracul, is the Clock Tower. It was built at the end of the 13^th century and is currently being used as a history museum. The ticket to the museum includes the ability to climb to the top of the tower where there are great views of the entire town, both inside and outside of the medieval citadel.

Within the citadel, the roads are narrow and either cobbled or dirt. The houses are very old and some are painted in bright colors. Around the two main squares (Casa Vlad Dracul is in the second main square) are several small hotels and numerous restaurants. We had our lunch in the main square after wandering the town and climbing up to the top of the clock tower. We had plenty of time for a nice, leisurely lunch. We made that our main meal for the day and had an appetizer, main course and dessert. Afterwards we left for Cluj Napoca, where we spent the night.

Our last stop in Transylvania was for lunch the next day in Oradea. Then we returned to Hungary and Budapest.

Crossing the Danube and entering Romania from Bulgaria brought us into the town of Giurgiu. From there, we headed to Bucharest. Romania became a country in 1859, when the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were united by Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Transylvania, which had been part of Hungary, didn’t become part of Romania until after World War I. The original inhabitants of Romania were the Dacians.

Giurgiu and Bucharest are part of Wallachia. Three different times in the 15^th century, the Prince of Wallachia was a fella named Vlad Dracula (aka Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Tepes). Vlad’s dad was Vlad Dracul (Dracul meaning “the dragon”), so Vlad junior became Vlad Dracula, (Dracula meaning “son of the dragon”). Part of the premise of The Historian is that the fictional character of Dracula and the historical person Vlad Dracula are one and the same.

The historical Vlad was killed in battle back in 1476/1477. He had supposedly been buried in a tomb he had built in the Monastery of Snagov. However, excavations in 1933 discovered that the tomb was empty (which would go well with the idea of Vlad being the famous vampire). Then a theory was put forward that he was instead buried at the Comana Monastery (which he had also established) and is closer to where he was killed. In the 1970s, a headless body was discovered there that could possibly be Vlad. He had been beheaded at the time of his death. That would keep him from roaming around after death as beheading works as well for a vampire as a stake through the heart.

Comana Monastery is not mentioned in the novel, but is located in Giurgiu, the first town we encountered upon entering Romania. When we got to Bucharest we came in via the old town, including the Old Fortress, Curtea Veche. This was the palace of the Princes of Wallachia in Bucharest. Vlad Dracula ruled from there before he moved his capitol to Targoviste. He also had a massive castle at Poenari, just north of Curtea de Arges (which was also a capitol of Wallachia at one time). He spent a lot of time there between 1459 and 1462. In 1462, it was besieged by the Turks. Vlad escaped through a secret passage, but his wife leapt to her death instead of allowing the Turks to capture her. Both Curtea Veche and Poenari are in ruins. There is talk about restoring Curtea Veche.

It must have been confusing for Wallachians to have their capitol constantly moving from Curtea de Arges to Bucharest to Targoviste. Our tour zeroed in on Bucharest, which became the capitol of the entire country of Romania.

By the time we got to Bucharest, Sue from Wales, Dot & Barbara from Australia, and I had bonded. So we ventured around in Bucharest together when we had free time. Bucharest modeled itself on Paris and even has its own Arc de Triomphe (though much smaller than the original). We had a rather whirlwind tour of the city prior to our lunch break. Where we were dropped off was near some of the landmarks we had zipped past earlier plus we had a pretty decent amount of time. So we ate fairly quickly at an outdoor café and set off with our cameras to cover as much ground as possible and be back to our meeting place on time.

At the café, we encountered both stray dogs and Roma children. The very large number of stray dogs (which are feral and dangerous) are descendants of dogs that lost their homes when their families were forcibly moved from their villages into urban apartment blocks, to work in factories, during the Communist era.

There is a fairly large Roma (formerly referred to as Gypsies) population throughout Romania. Some of the Roma are quite wealthy and have mansions in villages that are mainly Roma. But a large number are very poor and the children openly beg, especially in Bucharest.

Romania also has very large communities of Saxons (Germans) and Hungarians. These communities, despite having Romanian citizenship, keep themselves separate from one another and the overall Romanian population. Our Tour Director, Zsuzsa, told us that her family (who live in Transylvania) still considers themselves Hungarian, not Romanian. The Hungarians go to Hungarian schools and the Saxons go to German schools.

The Romanian Athenaeum, a 19^th century concert hall was the closest to the café. We then set off for the Central Committee Building in Revolution Square, which had been the Headquarters of the Communist Party. On the 21^st of December in 1989, Nicolae Ceauşescu, the communist dictator of Romania, had the military fire upon the people who were protesting in the square. Over 1033 were killed. The next day, he and his wife fled by helicopter from the roof of the Central Committee Building. They were captured at Targoviste and were executed by firing squad on December 25^th.

On our way to the People’s Palace (which was built by Ceauşescu) for a tour of the interior, we went by the Military Academy. The People’s Palace (the Romanian Parliament) is the second largest building in the world (after the US Pentagon). It has 3,100 rooms and covers 12 stories over 365,000 square metres (3,930,000 square feet). Some of those 3,100 rooms are mighty large. There was one that I figured could hold my entire neighborhood. The balcony (which, all by itself, is bigger than my house) was where Michael Jackson famously greeted the crowd with “Hello Budapest!”

After the tour, we drove along the Romanian version of the Champs Elysees, with its lovely fountains, and past a statue of Romania’s founder, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, to reach the complex containing the Patriarchal Church, the Church of Bucur the Shepherd, and the Prince Radu Monastery. All three buildings resemble each other enough that I had a difficult time telling them apart when trying to identify the photos later.

The Patriarchal Church was built between 1655 and 1659 and is quite beautiful inside. There was a service going on, but we could take photos as long as we didn’t use flash. No problem. The Church of Bucur the Shepherd was named for the founder of Bucharest. Some people believe the church was built by Bucur himself (date unknown), while others feel it was built in the 15^th century, and still others that it was built in the 17^th century (not too long before the Patriarchal Church). It was rebuilt in the 18^th century, which further complicates matters.

The Prince Radu Monastery was founded in the 16^th century on land that has been in use by humans for thousands of years. Supposedly, it was founded in the name of Vlad Dracula’s younger brother. But, since that particular Prince Radu (Radu Cel Frumos) converted to Islam while he and Vlad were being held in Turkey when they were children, that doesn’t seem to make much sense. A later Prince Radu (a direct descendent of Vlad’s named Radu Voda Mihnea) is the more likely candidate. He lived in the 17^th century, which was after the monastery was founded, but had the monastery reconstructed on its original foundations (after it had been blown up by the Turks) while he was Prince of Wallachia. This might have caused it to be renamed for him with the original name lost in time.

Back in the 1930s several Romanian peasant houses, barns, churches and other buildings were moved from all over the country to the National Village Museum on the shores of Herăstră Lake. This was our last visit in Bucharest. We were given maps of the open air museum and a time to be back at the entrance. Then we all went exploring. It was a fascinating place. Each building had information regarding where it was from, the time period and the purpose.

Once we got back to the hotel, which was connected to a small shopping mall, we still had time to exchange some money. There are some countries (and Romania was one at that time) that don’t use credit cards much or where it can be risky to use one (Egypt was in that category). So Sue and I exchanged some of our own currencies me USD, her GBP) for Romanian Lei as we both wanted to buy some souvenirs when we got to Transylvania.

We ran into Manny and Jane (also from the UK) having ice cream and joined them. We were soon joined in turn by Hillary. For just 12 Romanian Lei (4 USD), we could get three scoops of ice cream in a chocolate-lined cone bowl. We were on our own for dinner that night, so we had our ice cream and then stopped in at a sandwich shop to get sandwiches and drinks to take back to our rooms.

The next morning, we left Wallachia and entered Transylvania.

When growing up, about all I knew of Bulgaria was that it was part of the Soviet Union and had huge, muscle-bound men and women who competed in the Olympics. The country itself is quite beautiful and mountainous. It is also the oldest European state, having been founded in 681 as an independent country by the Bulgars. A good bit of Thrace (3000BC) was where Bulgaria is now. Several Thracian burial mounds can be found out in the countryside. Back in 855, two Bulgarian brothers named Cyril and Methodius invented the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used in several languages.

In 1018, Bulgaria fell to the Byzantines. Then, in 1398, it was invaded by the Ottoman Turks, who held the country until 1877 when the Russians helped the Bulgarians to win their freedom. After World War II, however, the Soviets took over Bulgaria until 1989, when they quietly left.

Bulgaria is the largest producer of lavender and rose oil in the world. We saw field after field of lavender plants and rose bushes. We also saw quite a few vast fields of poppies.

The drive from Belgrade to Sofia was a long one. We didn’t reach Sofia until the evening, around dinner time. Sofia is both the capitol and the largest city in Bulgaria. The area has been inhabited since at least 7,000 BC. By the time it became a city, it was inhabited by the Thracians. Alexander the Great and his dad, Philip II of Macedonia, both held the city at one time. Then it was conquered by the Romans, destroyed by the Huns, rebuilt by the Byzantines, and became part of the Bulgarian Empire. The name Sofia comes from the Greek word “Sophia” meaning “wisdom”.

The first night we spent in the hotel, there was a wedding going on. The guests were congregating outside of my room in the hallway around midnight, talking and laughing loudly, and not dispersing. So I got up, whipped the door open, placed a finger to my lips and said, “Shhhhh!” loudly. I then closed the door quickly to avoid any possible protests or arguments in a language I could not understand. Bless their hearts. They actually became quiet and went someplace else. I was able to get some sleep before needing to get up at 7am.

We spent the day in Sofia itself, starting at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Alexander Nevsky was a Russian Prince). Built between 1882 and 1912, the cathedral can hold 10,000 people. Photography isn’t allowed inside, but I didn’t know that until after I had already snapped a couple of somewhat fuzzy photos. It was very impressive and beautiful.

Next was the Church of Saint Sofia, which is the second oldest church in Sofia, dating to the 4^th century. The 19^th century Russian Church’s official name is the Church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker. It is lovely, with several onion domes. It is also set in a park. A large part of the older areas of the city are covered in parks. Many buildings, such as the Russian Church and the National Theatre (Opera House) are set within their own parks.

Bulgaria has a President, a Prime Minister and both legislative and judicial branches. The cluster of government buildings is called the Presidency. They have a short Changing of the Guards ceremony every hour just outside of the main building. Inside the courtyard of the complex lies some Roman ruins of the town of Serdica, which was a forerunner of Sofia. A relatively intact Roman building was converted into a church in the 4^th century. This is the oldest building in Sofia and is dedicated to Saint George. Saint George (aka Sveti Georgi), along with the Patron Saint, Ivan (John) of Rila, is one of Bulgaria’s most important saints.

The next morning, we set off for the Rila Monastery. A very important and pivotal plot point in The Historian, during which a couple of the main characters discover where the person they are pursuing  can be found, takes place at Rila Monastery, so I felt it would be a great place to buy a new crucifix to wear around my neck. After all, we were heading to Transylvania eventually.

The monastery was founded by Saint Ivan (John) of Rila in 927 and currently houses roughly 60 monks. It has 300 chambers, a main church, a museum, four chapels, a kitchen, a library, and a bell tower. It is high up in the mountains and is absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous.

That evening, when we returned to Sofia, we attended a Bulgarian Folklore Dinner. The music and dancing had both Turkish and Greek influences. Fire is an important element of Bulgarian culture, so the last entertainment of the night was a fire dance. This involved a fella dancing barefoot among smoldering embers while holding an icon. Being a fire dancer is a hereditary and revered position.

The following day we left for Plovdiv, which was once known as Philippopolis because of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II of Macedon. It was at one time a Thracian city and was raided by pretty much everyone throughout its history. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, having been established during the 7^th century BC, although it has had many different names during its existence. It wasn’t until the 9^th century AD that it was named Plovdiv. Like Rome and Edinburgh, Plovdiv is arranged on seven hills.

We visited some sites of Roman ruins, including a partially excavated gladiator arena and an amphitheater. The theatre is in pretty good shape and is still used for performances. A market was next to the arena, containing carpets and rugs, antiques, paintings, icons, and some souvenirs. On the other side of the market was an intact medieval area of streets, walls, gates and houses. I tell you, medieval people had to be in really good shape. The streets were very steep and narrow as were the stairs in the houses that were open to the public. Most of the houses are still privately owned and are quite unique.

After having some lunch, we drove to the Stara Planina Mountains, which are part of the Balkan Mountains. This included the Shipka Pass, which was the site of several important battles between the Russians and the Ottoman Turks in the 19^th century. The plains between Plovdiv and the mountains contained the largest amount of Thracian burial mounds we had encountered. I actually managed to get a decent photo of one as we flew by on the tour coach.

That evening we arrived in Veliko Tarnovo – the capitol of Bulgaria from 1185 to 1396. It is located way up in the mountains on the Yantra River. Once again, very steep cobblestoned roads and lots of equally steep stairs. The next day we visited Tsarevets Fortress, from which the kings of Bulgaria ruled the country. It is the highest point of the city. Traces of human presence there date back as far as the 2^nd century BC. There is also an Execution Rock from which people were thrown to the Yantra River far below. No record of any survivors.

Our hotel was on the edge of one of the mountains with a spectacular view of the Tsarevets Fortress, across the valley, from the restaurant of the hotel. My room was on the other side of the hotel overlooking a street. I remember it being quite warm that night and needing to keep the windows wide open since there was no air conditioning. I was hoping nothing would decide to fly in.

Near Veliko Tarnovo is a village called Arbanassi. The current population is about 500 people though, in its heyday, it had roughly 1,000 houses. This was the summer residence of the kings of Bulgaria. The houses were built as “fortress houses” where the ground floor was built in stone with thick walls and no windows while the floor above was often wood with plenty of windows.

Our last stop in Bulgaria was in the city of Rousse, just before crossing the Danube to Romania. It was mid-afternoon – ice cream time. They had a wide variety of delicious ice cream at a sidewalk cafe. After fortifying ourselves, we made our way into Romania, heading to its capitol Bucharest.

When planning for the Spring trip in 2009, Mom revealed that she wasn’t up to traveling anymore. There comes a point when the reward is no longer worth the effort and she had reached that point. When we had gone on the Central Europe tour the year before, our tour director, Wence, had told us about his friend, Zsuzsa, who led the Balkans & Transylvania tour. So I ended up going on that tour on my own.

Arriving in Budapest, the hotel room was not yet ready for the three of us that came in on Malev Airlines from Amsterdam. We needed to check our bags in at the desk to go and get something to eat while we waited. The hotel was on the river on the Pest side. The three of us walked along the river to find a café. Since I had been to Budapest before, I knew which direction was the most likely and we set off that way. Both of my companions were American. The female, Hilary, had the book The Historian (by Elizabeth Kostova) with her. She had read it before and wanted to read it again while on the tour as we would be visiting several of the locations in the book. I was doing the same thing.

The next day, we began our tour at Heroes’ Square. I not only had purchased a new video camera to replace the one that died in Egypt, but I bought a new camera as well. I had borrowed a digital camera to try out in Egypt and found that the photos were much better than from my film camera, so I took the plunge and got a digital camera that could also take photos in very low-light situations. This allowed me to take photos inside of places with very low light without needing a flash. This was helpful because some venues allow interior photography without a flash, but not with one. Beginning with this trip, I got into the habit of taking loads and loads of photos.

It was great seeing Arpad and the boys again. I took several photos from different angles of the Magyar Chieftain and his friends who founded Hungary in about 895. The first King of Hungary was his great-great-grandson, Istvan (Stephen), whose crown is on display in the Parliament building.

Up on Castle Hill, the Matthias Coronation Church was still partially in scaffolding. But we could go inside this time, so I did. This is the church where several of the kings were crowned. It was destroyed by the Mongols and the Turks and badly damaged during World War II. Each time it has been restored. The interior was still a little dark, but quite beautiful. Part of it was being worked on, but the altar was ready for its close-up.

While still in Buda, we went by the memorial to Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Jews from concentration camps during World War II. Back down in Pest, we went to the Doheny Street Synagogue with a beautiful sculpture representing a willow tree. The names of the Hungarian Jews who had perished in the Holocaust are on the leaves. Actor Tony Curtis, whose father was a Hungarian Jew, provided the funds for this memorial. Over 2,000 of the Jews who died in the Ghetto in Budapest were buried in the garden of the Synagogue. Then we were released for lunch. Since the John Bull Pub where Mom and I had dined the year before was nearby, I led a small group there.

On the way to Szentendre, we passed some of the ruins of the Roman town of Aquincum. If I return to Budapest again sometime, I’d like to explore them more. Our first stop in Szentendre was a diamond factory where I purchased some very lovely, old-fashioned dangle earrings made of Hungarian opals. Then we visited the same Serbian Orthodox Church as the prior year. This time, however, I got a couple photos of the inside. On the way back down the road to get to the tour coach, I bought a jacket for Mom for her birthday (which was taking place on the day I returned from the trip). She had looked at some the jackets the previous year, so I knew she was interested in them. She loved it and wore it for special occasions.

Back in Budapest, we stopped near the Parliament building to take photos of a memorial located near the building at the edge of the Danube. During World War II a Hungarian fascist group ordered thousands of Jews over time to stand at the edge of the river and remove their shows. Once they had done so, they were shot and fell into the river. The memorial consists of 60 pairs of shoes (in iron) of both adults and children. It is one of the most moving memorials I have seen.

That night we attended a Hungarian dinner with folk dancing. Upon arrival, we were served some apricot brandy in a little ceramic jug shaped like a man, which we were able to keep. Then we had a dinner of goulash soup, stuffed chicken and strudel accompanied by wine, Hungarian music and folk dancing.

The next day we left for Serbia on our way to Bulgaria. Because Serbia was not part of the European Union, we waited at the border quite a while before we could proceed to the city of Novi Sad where we were to have lunch. Once there, we exchanged some money to be able to pay for lunch. I exchanged enough for lunch and a small souvenir. I then ate at the McDonalds in the town square, near the bank where I had exchanged the money, so I could eat quickly and then explore before we needed to leave.

Founded in 1694, Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia and sits on the opposite side of the Danube River from the Petrovaradin Fortress which was built in 1692. The town square was quite large, so there was a sizeable area for me to explore, plus some interesting side streets. When we left Novi Sad, we drove to Belgrade where we were to spend the night.

Also on the Danube, Belgrade had been the capitol of Yugoslavia and is now the capitol of Serbia. It has essentially been in existence (founded by the Vincas) since the 6^th century BC and has been conquered by Celts, Romans, Slavs, Byzantines, Franks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ottomans, and the Hapsburgs. The oldest part of the present city is the Kalemegdan Citadel, which dates back to the 3^rd century BC (three centuries before Belgrade existed) and has been destroyed and rebuilt throughout the centuries.

We arrived in time for a tour of the city before checking into the hotel and having dinner. The next day we left for Bulgaria, which was very different from what I expected.

Our last full day of sightseeing in Egypt took us to the temples of Luxor and Karnak. Starting at Luxor after breakfast, we walked along an impressive avenue lined with sphinxes leading to the partner of the obelisk in Place du Concorde in Paris. Just beyond the obelisk, the entrance to the temple is flanked by two gigantic statues of Ramses II.

The temple was constructed mainly in 1400 BC and contains several statues of Ramses II moved from the Ramasseum. This is because the Ramasseum has been flooded several times and the statues were in danger. They have been set up between columns throughout the temple complex.

In the rear of the complex, a church was created in one of the shrines during the very early Christian era. Some of the paint can still be seen on the walls.

After Luxor and before Karnak, we visited a perfume factory owned by the Al Fayed family. Al Fayed owned both Harrod’s Department store in London and the Ritz Hotel in Paris at the time. His son, Dodi, was killed in the car crash that killed Princess Diana.

As impressive as Luxor Temple is, Karnak surpasses it. Karnak Temple was built over a span of roughly 1,100 years and is massive. At one point the avenue of sphinxes at Luxor joined up with the avenue of rams in front of Karnak. The oldest part of the temple is the Temple of Ptah, which is so tiny, it was difficult to try to take a photo inside, especially since I wasn’t exactly alone. The newest structure is the entrance pylon. The main precinct of the complex (and the only part open to the public) is dedicated to Amen-Re, the sun god.

Probably the most famous part is the Hypostyle Hall, mainly built by Ramses II. This is a huge hall with massive columns covered in hieroglyphics. Originally it had a roof over it. Here and there are still some remaining pieces of the roof.

Hatshepsut had been busy there too. She made some important contributions to the Hypostyle Hall and built a small, red temple. There is a large obelisk of hers still standing and another that has collapsed. The Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan was supposed to have gone here too. There originally were several statues of her. As elsewhere, her immediate successors tried to erase anything in reference to her. Some of the statues were destroyed. Some had walls built in front of them so nobody could see them. I have a photo of one of the statues that had been behind a wall. King Tut is also represented by a statue.

Karnak is one of the few temples that still has its sacred lake. This might be partially because it is huge. It is also lined in stone with steps leading down into it. The lake was used for ritual bathing by the priests and for the geese that lived in the complex.

In addition to an initial guided tour by our Egyptologist, we had a lot of free time at Karnak to explore the parts that are open to the public on our own. I tried to keep Hatshepsut’s obelisk in view so I wouldn’t get lost in the maze of walls, columns, statues, obelisks, and piles of rubble. I managed to find my way back out when it was time to do so despite that fact that I pretty much explored every part I could get to (and possibly even some parts that I really wasn’t supposed to be – as I was the only one there and there seemed to be some excavating going on).

We flew back to Cairo from Luxor on Egypt Air. Then I flew from Cairo to JFK in NYC and on to Minneapolis. The entire trip was so memorable and I am so glad I took the opportunity to see Egypt when I could.